When Winter met the Sun
by QueenCocoChanelle
Summary: Zoe Bishop is 24. Zoe Bishop is a nurse who traded working in a hospital for being an Admin worker for Stark Industries. Zoe Bishop doesn't know why she did the last one. Zoe Bishop knows the identity of one superhero. Zoe Bishop thinks she's got it all mapped out. Zoe Bishop thinks all she needs is a good normal guy to settle down with. Then Zoe Bishop met Bucky Barnes.
1. The Odd Encounter

You didn't really have time for hobbies since interning at Stark Industries.

You're old boss thought you were mouthy enough to give tony a run for his money and so recommended you to Pepper Potts who seemed to like your slight cynicism and playful nature. Hired on the spot.

It had been three weeks and so far you'd met all the avengers save for Thor and Loki who were busy doing whatever Asgardians did on Asgard.

So far you'd got on well with vision and Wanda. Everyone got on well with Steve because he was Steve and you couldn't not get along with the man out of time.

The two 007's as you called them were friendly too, Clint was somewhat like an older brother minus some closeness. Sam was great. Tony saw you as his pal/work wife/unfiltered friend. Rhodes also was quite fond of you and you of him, guy had a good sense of humor. Scott was by far your favourite. The guy was somewhat your make equivalent give or take a few traits and some tanned skin, black hair and brown eyes.

Then there was him.

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes.

Quiet and brooding except around Steve and occasionally Sam and Natasha. Whenever Clint was around they talked too. But other than that silence.

Until today apparently.

"Uhhh, Zoe is it?" He asked somewhat sheepishly as he walked into your office.

Not immediately recognising the voice you looked up to see who it was.

"How can I help you…..Sargent Barnes?" You asked surprised.

He'd never once spoken to you before. Not once.

"No ones called me that in a while" he said like stating a fact.

"Mr Barnes" you attempted.

"My old man" he stated again.

"Alright, James how may I help you?" You sighed.

As if debating whether to let you call him by his given name he looked conflicted before saying "Steve said you could help me out here, filling out some paperwork"

"Sure what for?" You said taking the paper her offered you.

Reviewing the paper you muttered "social security number, health care, passport, medical history, didn't they give you this before you entered the county?" You asked a little shocked he didn't have a passport.

"Just got cleared" he said simply

"Alrighty then, have a seat and I'll fill it out" you said trying not to notice him move.

He wasn't wearing anything ridiculously tight or anything like that but you tell the man was built. You were a sucker for muscles. Probably why all your other relationships tanked, you went for looks and so did they.

"Okay so your name is James Buchanan Barnes, and your birthdate is…?" You quizzed waiting for his answer.

Giving you his birthdate you jotted t down before continuing what could only be described as an interrogation. You two were practically strangers and here you were asking for all his details and history like discussing the weather over coffee.

You could totally go for coffee right now.

"You did strike me as a caffeine person" he smiled.

Well, apparently your brain now sends everything you say to be announced via your mouth. Great.

"I'm quite fond of it, yes" you smiled tightly.

Way to be a bitch Fox.

"Where are you from? Your accent-" he began only to have you cut him off. I was born in Australia and got my education there but I have British parents, well indian and Spanish parents who were born there" you rattled on. "So my accents somewhat British and Australian" you explained.

"Isn't Australia the place where all those jumping things are?" He asked.

"Yeah the kangaroos" you laughed. "We also got koalas, they cute little fluffy things who eat eucalyptus leaves all day and sleep, what a life huh?" You joked.

"Sounds ideal" he smiled.

"Oh yeahhh" you nodded.

"How'd you end up here?" He asked genuinely curious.

"Here as in New York or here as in Stark industries?" You questioned.

"Both" he said.

"Well my mothers a British diplomat so she travelled a lot and I kind of went wherever she did if dad was in business trips or visiting his parents, they live in Barcelona, and so I worked in high up places cos of mum and then eventually Stark industries got wind of me and here I am, new yorks kinda a given if you work here" you explained.

"You like it here?" He asked.

"Your shopping is great, health care system not so much" you grinned.

"You don't strike me as someone who needs excessive health insurance" he said.

"Type 1 diabetes, invisible life long illness" you smiled with a slight laugh.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't say how horrible it is, I know, but hey it could've been worse" you said ruefully. "I can at least live normally and carry on like it's nothing"

Silence for all of two seconds before you realise you're meant to be filling things out.

"Okay, so your health history, you know anything about any illness or medical conditions that run in your family?" You asked.

"My grandfather died of lung disease but he was a heavy smoker" he told.

"My dad smokes heavily, nothing convinced him to quit" she smiled fondly.

"Do we have a daddy's little girl over here" he teased.

"Oh yeah, always dad" you smiled.

"Did you have a sibling that was all about mom?" He asked.

"My mother wasn't very well liked between me and my little brother" she admitted. "All work no play with that woman"

"Do I sense a little bitterness" he asked.

"You don't wanna know"

You continued like this for two hours managing to fill out all the paperwork and somehow managing to finish your water bottle despite all the talking.

"Thanks for the help Zoe" he smiled.

"Not a problem James" you smiled

Not a bad day.


	2. Curiosity

It had been a total of six days since the rather odd interaction between one James Buchanan Barnes and Zoe Evelyn Grace Bishop.

They'd never really spoken before the encounter, yet he had come into her office and asked to fill out forms with very personal information of his on them. Odd.

It had been a total of four days since she'd actually seen the infamous Winter Soldier in the flesh and she couldn't help but wonder where he'd gotten to.

It wasn't a lingering thought or minor obsession, but he had ignited a spark of curiosity in the young girl.

Bucky Barnes had met his fair share of women, Zoe seemed to stand out amongst the rest.

For one, he'd never met one with an Australian accent. He'd served with Australian men in the war, but never really got around to meeting the nurses they'd bought with them. Or at least he thinks he didn't, his memory was still somewhat fuzzy.

She seemed to have more to her than met the eye. She was bright and airy and bubbly and just so full of life, he could see it in the twinkle of her eye. She obviously tamed it for work purposes but Bucky knew she was a happy person. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel like there was more to hr than smiles and happy feelings. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but there was something.

Despite his little psychic intuition he wasn't head over heels. But he was curious. He was very curious. Steve liked that fact way too much.

6 days after their little interaction and Bucky found his super senses picking up on something.

Yelling? Disagreement? Then he placed the familiar accent. Zoe.

Following the noise, he came to the floor of her office, which was completely empty except for her office and she wasn't in there alone.

"Zoe can you just think about it?" asked a voice.

"No! And I don't need to, I know my answer and I know nothing good can come of this, need proof? Just take a trip down memory lane, you'll have it all there" she said clearly more than exasperated and annoyed.

An ex perhaps. Bucky felt like a creep for listening but according to Steve and roughly 12 videos SHIELD had made him watch, sexual harassment occurred in the workplace and could escalate violently, so he stayed.

"But Zoe"

"But nothing Luke! You had your chance throughout four years of university and you fucked it up every chance you got. You used me the first time, then a second and a third and a fourth and here you are trying again. When are you gonna understand that I want nothing to do with you! You screwed me over repeatedly and now you want a relationship? Please. Not gonna happen. I don't care if you've changed. You're the old you in my head and no Luke you don't deserve a second chance!" she raised her voice, not quite yelling, but not at her all her usual volume.

Bucky didn't know who this guy was, but he automatically decided he didn't like him. He sounded like an ass.

He sounds like you. Said the little voice in his head.

Yes, but I've come a long way since trying to get Dot to go to lunch with me and her cousin to go to dinner with me on the same day. He reassured himself.

"Look Zoe, I fucked up, I know, but I've changed, I can be the guy you wanted" he tried, sounding very desperate admittedly.

"I'm not that girl anymore Luke, I want different things. I don't want to move to the country and get a ranch, I don't want the house and the white picket fence and children and dogs, well I want the dogs, but that plan I told you all those years ago, gone" she said clearly fed up. "Now get out and leave me alone, before I call security"

"You could've called security ages ago" he pointed out.

"I didn't out of reverence of our past friendship, I see that was a mistake, now leave, I won't ask a third time and it would be unwise to try my patience" she said firmly.

Bucky heard footsteps and so he quickly hid behind a wall while a blonde haired man walked past, apparently this was Luke. Dickhead.

Walking towards Zoe's office he smiled upon smelling some sort of women's perfume.

Zoe was sighing repeatedly as she gathered papers and put away files and turned off her computer. Straightening up she yelped as she noticed Bucky standing in the door frame.

"Oh my god! You scared the shit out of me" she said with an amused sort of smile, well as amused as one could manage while in shock, while clutching her chest.

She closed her eyes and let out a small laugh while Bucky couldn't help but admire how nice of a shape she had. Again wearing a black pencil skirt, this time with a blue half sleeved button shirt and her hair obviously curled but put into a ponytail.

"Sorry" Bucky smiled.

"Really? Cos you seem rather entertained from where I'm standing" she observed.

"Cross my heart" Bucky smiled.

"Is there something I could help you with James? Nothing went wrong with the paperwork did it? I've got spare copies if needed" she said while rushing to a set of drawers behind her desk.

Bucky didn't know whether to be amused or touched. Amused because he never said a thing about the papers and here she was rushing to get them and touched because everyone hesitated with him yet here she was without a question going out of her way to help him. No one except Steve did that for him. Well, Steve and Wanda.

Steve was Steve and Wanda knew what it felt like to be unfairly judged.

But Zoe? He didn't get that.

"No, no the papers went through, I just heard a noise and came to check it out" he said warmly.

"Noise or the dickhead?" she muttered.

"The latter" he smiled. Okay, now he was amused.

"I deal with idiots in every aspect of my life" she deadpanned.

"My condolences" he said in mock empathy. "How come you're always the last one here?" he asked curiously.

"I like it here, plus, my apartment doesn't have a view that can compete with this" she said eyeing the beautiful sunset New York had to offer tonight.

"You're not too far?" Bucky asked.

"Couple of blocks" she answered.

"That's an expensive rent" Bucky said seriously.

"Tony pays well" she answered.

"How long have you worked here?"

"Little under 5 months, I love it here, plus I get insurance which is hard to come by these days"

Diabetes" he remembered.

"Diabetes" she affirmed. "Hey James?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he said somewhat surprised she was asking him questions.

"What's the hair like?" she asked.

"The hair?" he asked thoroughly confused.

"You're hair. Does it annoy you being the length it is?" she asked.

"It's longer than my old hair, but I can tie it back if I want to, why do you ask?" he said still confused.

"My mother keeps annoying me to cut my hair and I need to come up with valid reasons to tell her to piss off" she said honestly.

"Well doll don't you have a way with words?" he laughed.

He noticed her breathe stutter for a moment. Why? He had no clue.

"I'm somewhat articulate with a dash of foul mouth" she admitted rather shyly.

"I've noticed" he said as she packed up the last of her things. "Do you need someone to walk you home?" he asked.

"No, the kid is walking me home tonight" she smiled.

"You have a kid?" he asked shocked.

She looked way too young to have a kid.

"No, THE kid. Peter" she told him.

"Parker?" he asked before he could help it.

"Spider-boy is my escort to my humble abode" she said shocking Bucky.

"You know?" he asked with genuine surprise.

"he saved me multiple times, it's embarrassing really" she laughed. "Also how I ended up here"

"Really?"

"Nearly got hit by a drunk driver while he was superheroing and he put me on stark tower where I had a conversation with Rhodey and the came to get me, I met Tony, sassed him with my verbal brilliance and he hired me that day, I'd already had a recommendation from my old boss" she summarized quickly. "Plus, Mia likes him"  
"Mia?"

"My friend had a kid, she passed away last year and she is occasionally at my place and Mia seems to have taken a shine to him. I think he may be her first crush" she smiled, obviously fond of the kid.

"you like her" he observed.

"kinda hard not to, even with my hating all things optimistic she's just a ray of sunshine and ugh I can't even describe how adorable she is" she gushed.

Finally having packed everything and making sure she didn't forget anything she began to move away from her desk.

"can I walk you downstairs?" Bucky asked.

"Elevator James, I don't do stairs in these heels" she said rolling her ankle around in the air.

Taking a look at her feet, he agreed with her logic. They looked like little death traps.

"Elevator it is" he smiled.

As they walked to the elevator chatting about random pieces of information about their day he noticed things. He was trained as the Winter Soldier to do that and it stuck. He noticed her curled hair, he noticed how brown her eyes, how unbelievably well they suited her, her small but slightly muscular legs, her smallness in general. She was quite busty and he wouldn't have minded walking behind her, but she was tiny. She couldn't have been more than 5'2. yet she seemed to think she was 6'7 in her head the way she argued with the asshole from earlier. Bucky suddenly chuckled at this new idea.

"What?" she asked.

"You're tiny" he said.

"Really? I had no idea." she deadpanned.

"You should observe more" he played along.

"Okay no that's just mean" she frowned.

"Bet you loved hide and seek as a kid" he observed.

"Oh yeah" she laughed. "Could fit into the tiniest spaces and it was great" she confirmed his theory.

Finally opening its doors the elevator had arrived.

Stepping inside and hitting the ground floor button she looked up only to see him staring at her like she was the most fascinating creature to live.

"What?" she asked.

"Your nails" he said.

Looking down at her pinky nude acrylics she giggled, he'd probably never seen anything like them.

"they're fake" she said. They put a little nail at the end and cover it in a gel and paint over them. I don't normally get them cos they kinda destroy my nails but I have a friends 25th and I wanted to get dolled up so I got em done yesterday" she explained. "Plus they're great for back scratches and what not, or hair" she added.

"What?" was all he asked, back scratches? Hair?

"Here bring your head down a bit so I can reach it" she said as he obliged.

Running her fingers through his hair a few times before letting her nails graze his scalp, Bucky had to resist a groan that bubbled up in his throat. It felt amazing. If he needed proof, the eruption of goosebumps on his skin would do the trick.

"See, nice isn't it?" she asked.

"Yeah" he agreed. "Definitely"

"It pretty much all I do in my spare time" he admitted.

"I would be too" he said honestly.

Keeping up the small talk till they reached the ground floor they stepped out of the elevator.

"Want me to keep you company until Parker gets here?" he asked.

"That's alright I'm sure you've got better things to do, besides, I wanna get the food before the arachnid shows up all impatient from fighting crime.

"Food?" Bucky asked.

"It's movie night and his Aunt is working late at the hospital, so it's Rush Hour marathons and essay writing and Chinese takeout and whatever hot chocolate and baked goods I can get at the café for us" she said indicating to the café across the lobby.

"I thought you said he saved you once?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, but I've known him as Peter a bit longer than I have a spider-man. His Aunt and I worked together" she told him.

"At the hospital?" Bucky asked confused.

How did she go from Hospital to Stark Industries assistant?

"Yeah, I'm actually a registered nurse" she said.

His eyebrows flew into his hairline at that revelation.

"Really?" Bucky asked.

"I went straight into university after high school, got my nursing degree and then moved here to work in the hospital and became friends with May, Peter would always drop by to bring her food or visit and I used to talk to him a lot and eventually played occasional baby sitter and well yeah, you can only imagine my reaction when I found out about his night time activities" she chuckled.

Glancing at her watch she cursed.

"Crap, sorry James but I really gotta get him the food" she said rummaging through her purse to get her wallet. "Poor kid'll be starved between school and this and what not" she said. "Thanks for the conversation though" she said earnestly.

"You're welcome" he said before watching her dash off to the café.

He didn't go back upstairs, opting to watch her instead.

She got in line and waited her turn, letting an older man in front of her who she beamed at as they obviously shared a laugh. It wasn't long before Peter on his skateboard came up behind her throwing an arm loosely around her shoulders. She looked to be scolding him for something. Probably the skateboard before he held his hands up and said something amusing because she couldn't help but smile, which in turn made Bucky smile, before they looked through the window together picking out different things and quite obviously disagreeing before she gave an exasperated sigh and caved to whatever it was he wanted. You could compare it to a mother and her four year old except in a way you couldn't.

Watching them leave together waiting until they both disappeared from his line of vision, Bucky's curiosity turned into something more.


	3. The Work Husband and Wife

**Okay guys so here is chapter 3.**

 **Apologies for being MIA but I only just finished exams last Wednesday and spent the last week googling what happens if I fail business (doing a double degree in Nursing and Business and am so ready to drop business, we did accounting this semester ewwww)**

 **But this is more likely to be what chapters are like in length.**

 **It's kinda a filler chapter to introduce the dynamic between Zoe (who's name I'm considering changing to Max bcos I've got another story with Zoe as the OC) and Tony Stark (YAS FINALLY)**

 **Comment away and give me love cos my mum's being pissy and I want affection from total strangers that didn't come me sucking someones dick or a one night stand.**

 **Love you all, and thank you for your patience**

 **CHAPTER 3: The Work Husband and Wife**

It was like any other day at Stark industries for Zoe.

Wake up, get to work at 8:40am, go up the escalator to the first floor to say hi to Happy Hogan who would no doubt be scanning the security screens of the top floor for Pepper's safety, go up to her office by 9am, turn on her computer, start working, reject David DiMaggio's advances once, take her break with Sasha at 11:45 in which they'd have coffee, discuss the rejection if David DiMaggio for Zoe, the rejection of Liam for Sasha, gossip, go back to work, take lunch, reject David DiMaggio twice, take her afternoon tea near Pepper's office and hear some minor explosion go off in Tony's workshop which fazed no one at this point due to the repetitive nature of the said explosions. Then she'd go back to work until 5pm, at which she would head home or do something with Peter or even Tony. Then she'd wake up and do it all again the next day.

She had her normal day and then got called into the workshop by Tony.

"Jimmy Neutron" Zoe called out loudly. "If something's gonna fly at my face when I open that door, I'd prefer you turn off any machinery" she yelled going down the stairs before going down the last few stairs.

"Relax Twinkle Toes, no flying limbs this time" Tony said nonchalantly. "Unless you want a certain limb, I wouldn't object"

Going down the steps that came after the door (why one needed steps before and after the door Zoe would never understand) she turned before locking the door.

"All your regular human limbs are enough work, last thing I need is them flying at my face" she laughed.

"Oh c'mon, we'd be good together" Tony joked.

While the two engaged in banter, they were completely unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching them, well she was, Tony just ignored them. Steve Rogers who disapproved of Tony's inappropriate flirting and Bucky who was thoroughly confused. Was she sleeping with Stark? She did sound like she knew him well the last time they spoke (he had more paperwork) and she told him Tony didn't hate him, just saw his face in the video (which was also something she apparently knew about courtesy of Peter) and couldn't help the reaction.

"We'd be great together, Y'know, with some Viagra on your part" she deadpanned.

"Okay that is just mean, I may be over forty but I'm a Stark, we can get it up til death" he said seriously.

"Given your old habits I'll take your word for it-" she stopped abruptly when she noticed Bucky in the room. Bucky with Captain fucking America.

Her face had never heated up so quickly in her life.

"Tony" she said. "We have guests" she said blandly.

"Oh yeah, it's why I called you down here, we're working on Tin Man's arm, I need you to do some vitals before we begin, just to be sure" he said.

She turned to glare at him while all he did was give her his trademark grin.

"C'mon Nurse Bishop, hop to it" he teased.

"I hate you" she muttered.

Fortunately, Tony couldn't hear it, Steve and Bucky on the other hand just grinned in unison.

"James" she nodded. "Captain, it's an honor to meet you" she said sticking a hand out which he immediately shook.

"Honor's all mine, heard you're a nurse, that's one hell of a job" he smiled.

"I think you're confusing me with a doctor Captain" Zoe smiled.

"Not at all, I knew nurses who did incredible things back in the war" he said earnestly.

"They must've been something to leave an impression on you, huh?" she smiled while taking out the blood pressure cuffs and stethoscope.

He just flushed in response earning her laughter.

"Well would you look at that; Captain America is kinda shy" she laughed softly.

"Hey, I'm adapting" he told her.

"Must be so different huh? For both of you" she said.

"You have no idea" Bucky smiled.

"I don't think I could even try" she smiled. "Uncross your legs for me, sit straight" she instructed while placing a pillow under his right arm.

Doing as told before feeling a cuff tighten around his arm he sat quietly while she took his blood pressure eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration. She looked so fixated on getting what she needed she didn't noticed Bucky staring at her.

Bucky on the other hand was so fixated on her he didn't realize Steve staring at him. And of course with Steve being fixated on Bucky being fixated on Zoe, he didn't notice Tony staring at all of them.

"Like a damn chain" he mumbled.

"BP is 100/90" Zoe called

"100/90, okay heart rate?" Tony called back putting all of the info down.

"Tony, you know you could've gotten F.R.I.D.A.Y. to do all of this, she randomly took mine the other day in my office" Zoe chuckled.

"You were hyperventilating and showed signs of severe distress Miss Bishop, I thought it essential, the boss has enough scandal without his assistants dropping dead" F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice echoed through the room.

This just earned laughter from Zoe who ignored the alarmed looks of the three men around her.

"Zo…" Tony began.

"Don't you start with me Tony" she said impatiently.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said following her around the room like a lost puppy.

"You were busy blowing up half of the Avengers Tower!" she defended. "The last thing I needed is explosions"

They kind of argued like a married couple. Bucky didn't know what to make of that.

"That's why I put in the panic button in your office, AND ON YOUR PHONE! Y'know, _for when you panic_ " Tony said like it was of the utmost betrayal she hadn't called for his help.

"Tony I was fine, just minor panic attack, I ate some chocolate and Sasha brought me some tea and all was well" she said calmly.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. was that the case?" Tony asked the AI only to have Zoe roll her eyes.

"Yes boss, it took Miss Bishop 14 minutes and 23 seconds for her body to return to its normal state. Peter had also accompanied her around for the rest of the day" F.R.I.D.A.Y. told.

"See" Zoe said. "Perfectly fine" she said.

"Hey James, do you prefer an arm to which I take blood from?" Zoe called while getting her needle and equipment ready.

"Uh, no?" he said confused.

"Oh crap" she said smacking her forehead as Tony began cackling in the background. "I am so, so sorry! I didn't even think" she apologized profusely. "Oh Tony shut up, it's habit" she snapped as he continued laughing.

"It's alright" Bucky chuckled.

"Really, I am mortified, it's just that I always ask because some people are picky and-" she began rambling.

"Zoe, relax, he said it's okay" Steve assured her although he also looked amused.

"It's not okay" she mumbled childishly.

She was kinda cute. Very childlike in ways.

"Hey little vixen, wanna come learn something?" Tony called out.

"Give me two minutes" she said while fastening some sort of uncomfortably tight strap around Bucky's arm. "I know it's unpleasant, just give it a moment or two, Tony how much do you need?" she said looking at him from where she was.

"Three vials should do it" he said while getting a microscope ready.

"Okay James, slight pinch" she said wiping down the area with an alcohol swab before collecting his blood.

"Y'know I half expected you to faint at the sight of blood the first few times I met you" Bucky said.

"What?" she said in shock. "You thought I was all pencil skirts and heels?" she asked.

"Pencil skirts, heels and fake nails" Bucky shrugged correcting her as she laughed.

"I'm more scrubs than heels" she said. "Besides I get to wear shoes that don't make my feet hurt so much when I'm on the wards" she said honestly.

"Why do you wear em then?" he said indicating to her shoes.

"Well like you so kindly pointed out in the elevator the other day, I'm tiny" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're awfully quiet back there Cap" she said dazzling Bucky with the smile she gave his best friend.

"He's having an actual conversation with you" was all Steve said.

"Steve thinks I'm anti-social" Bucky whispered as if it was scandalous.

"NO" she whisper-yelled. "Did he try make you talk to the- Y'know- people" she whispered back equally scandalous sounding.

"Worse, I talked to them of my own free will" Bucky continued as she pulled out the needle.

"Oh my god! You're not an anti-social? You lied to the Star Spangled Man with a Plan? The mascot of truth and justice?" she said seriously.

"Okay c'mon I am not that bad" Steve defended.

"Language" was all she said.

"C'mon! Really?" he yelled exasperatedly.

Her and Tony laughed. Bucky would have to ask Steve about it later.

"How do you even know about that?" Steve said eyeing Tony.

"My movie nights now usually consist of watching old fighting footage and crime related things with Tony" she said.

"Wait. You watch our footage?" Steve asked a lot more seriously.

"Relax Capsicle, she signed an NDA" Tony said.

"Besides not like I'm gonna share the privilege of that with anyone else, you got a mean swing Cap" she said before turning and walking to Tony's little makeshift bio lab. "Now what am I supposed to be learning?" she said.

Grey pencil skirt, slit in back. Black sleeveless top, three white vertical lines in front, white neckline, no buttons. Black heels, average heel, simple. Bucky memorised.

"Okay see this drop of blood, what do you see?" he said.

"Looking into the microscope, I see blood Tony" she deadpanned. "Cell bodies, and red sticky blood" she said.

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her waist and gently dragged her to the next microscope while he put something into the next one. "And now?" he said.

"I see- is that? Oh my god" she said in shock. "I can actually see it regenerate" she bounced excitedly.

"That" Tony began. "Is Steve's blood".

"Captain, you are gonna age like fine wine" she said looking at him seriously.

"This one" he began again putting his hands on her waist and dragging her gently to the next station. "Is the Murder Bot's blood" he said with a slightly tense edge this voice.

"Tony" she said seriously, her voice dropping lower than Bucky thought a girl's voice could go.

"Tin Man?" he said phrasing it more like a question.

"Tin Man is much better" she nodded approvingly.

Bucky looked up at Steve the way a confused child would look to its mother for an explanation. But Steve had none.

"Hey, his regenerates too, just slightly slower" Zoe said looking into the last microscope.

"Exactly, now-" Tony said pulling her onto his lap, arms around her waist, then kicking at the desk so his chair slid to the other side of the room while she grabbed on and squealed in shock.

"Tony don't do that" she said holding a hand to her heart.

"The more you deny me, the more I persevere" he quipped back at her. "Now get a look in here" he said at another microscope.

Going to get up, she was effectively stopped by Tony's arms still holding on.

"Oh, are you stuck" he said with a slight tilt of his head and his usual teasing tone.

"Tony" was all she said.

"Oh look at that, the table is moving down, no need for you to get up" he said in a mock cheer.

"You really are a piece of work" she said flicking his ear.

"Ouch. Violence in the workplace" Tony said.

"Okay, I see nothing" she said looking into the microscope.

"Oh, yeah right, wrong thing, look at this" said the billionaire indicating towards some blue prints.

"You get that I failed physics in high school right?" she asked him. "I excelled at Psychology" she said.

"I remember, Psychology and Sociology were your favourite and your least favourite was English. You spend most of your time reading FanFiction in your classes and consumed a lot of Spice Chai Lattes." he listed.

"Impressive Mr. Stark" she teased. "But that doesn't help me translate any of this to English" she told him sheepishly.

"Okay so see this line" he said pointing to the middle of the page. She nodded. "This represents the ground at its zero point" he said.

"So Sea Level?" she asked.

"Atta girl" he nodded proudly. "This is a basic sketch to show the gravity scale of the earth, we're gonna use it to fix Barnes's arm. The weight and thickness need to not weigh him down in the field. I need your nimble little fingers to reach the places I can't" he told her.

"There is no way in which I am qualified to do this" she told him seriously. "Bucky I'm not doing this" she said.

"I trust you" the super soldier said calmly attempting not to see red with her still on Tony's lap. Where the hell this jealousy was coming from Bucky had no idea.

"C'mon" Tony said using his puppy dog eyes. "I'll use the magic words" he threw in, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"You'll give me a raise?" Zoe said in false excitement.

"If that's what it takes" Tony quipped.

"I'll settle for Pizza; you know how I like it" She said while Tony had already pulled out his phone.

"Uh yeah hi, Meat lovers with a cheesy crust, Hawaiian regular crust, two bottles of Pepsi and some chocolate mousse" said the ever so clever Boy Genius into his phone. "Yep, all large, to Stark tower, Workshop 2, the doorman will know where it goes" he said. "Yep, you have a good evening too".

"Y'know the more food you buy me the more appealing the idea of being your assistant gets" Zoe said quickly scanning over the blueprints for Bucky's arm.

"Please, me alone is an appealing idea" Tony snorted.

"Fossils, if you'd please" Tony said indicating to the empty seats. "Zo, you get my special chair" he said pushing it forward.

Before she was sitting on it he quickly moved to sit on said chair before she noticed, ending up on his lap again. "What, you needed the extra height" he said when she glared at him.

"The seat had an adjustable height" she said. "I'd know cos I ordered it" she told him.

"You keep me warm and your back is a good pillow" he said.

"First time anyone's ever said that about the back" she mumbled and Tony smirked.

"DiMaggio still bothering you by any chance?" Tony asked.

'Who the hell was DiMaggio?' Bucky thought to himself.

"When is that man ever not annoying me?" she said rhetorically.

"I've got a plan to make him stop annoying you" Tony said.

She looked up and received a rather pointed look from him.

"No" she said.

"Oh c'mon. Just be my date to the benefit. Pepper's not exactly an option" Tony whined.

"Pepper just so happens to be my boss. My boss who I don't wanna piss of" she defended.

"You're not gonna piss Pepper off, she's seeing that douche brain Elliot Stubbs or whatever" Tony grumbled.

"SERIOUSLY?! Damn, go Pepper, that man's beauty could compete with Adonis" she sighed earning a glare from Tony. "…. If you use lots and lots of Photoshop on him, I mean, he's got a unibrow, ugly" she said attempting to make up for her previous statement.

"What's he got that I don't? She's dating another me minus the brilliance. Seriously what does he have?" Tony asked to no one in particular.

"Ability to control his alcohol consumption, no child like stubbornness, no ginormous ego-"

"Yeah yeah he's great" Tony snapped.

"I'm sure she misses you, but Tony, you're not giving up Iron Man any time soon and I don't think she can accept that" Zoe said honestly while helping Tony open up the top of the metal arm. "Besides, look on the bright side. Pepper won't be able to keep up with your drinking, I can" she said happily earning more laughter from Tony.

"Yeah I know. Hey, you like that I'm Iron Man right? Big, tough superhero who can protect you from harm and danger and DiMaggio" he said earning her laughter. 'And take you out on extravagant dates or something more low key like a baseball game or coffee" he added.

"You just don't give up do you?" she asked.

"God no" he said simply while holding a wire in place while telling her to place some glue under it.

"How's Mia?" he said switching the conversation topic.

"She's good, we took her to go see Isabelle yesterday, she misses her, it's expected." she sighed sadly. "But she made a painting of The Little Mermaid at school today, Dan sent it to me, cutest thing ever" she said lighting up like a Christmas tree.

Seeing her smile like that made Tony happy.

"Yeah? No kindergarten boyfriend?" he asked.

"Oh she's getting there, believe me. Some boy named Jesse. He sounds like an ass" Zoe grumbled the last bit.

"He's four" Tony said. "How can he be an ass?"

"He only likes the pretty girls, steals Caleb's car, that's one of Mia's good friends by the way, he was mean to Mia when she tripped over and his name is Jesse" she said simply.

"All boys are like that; I know I was" Tony defended.

"Okay, so now I know he's an ass" Zoe deadpanned.

"Mean Miss Bishop, that any way to talk to your boss?" Tony chided.

"No, but we both know the nature of our relationship extends that of a normal professional relationship" Zoe quipped.

"Mmm does it now?" he growled cheekily sliding his hands up her waist.

Elbowing him in the side she turned back to the super soldiers. "James you wanna come up here?" she asked to which he nodded and came up so sitting on the opposite side of the table. "Okay, now put your arm here, relax it, just like that, there we go, Tony open away" she instructed while moving to get off his lap which she yet again failed to do due to Tony's persistence and her inability to injure her boss.

After an hour of tinkering away at Bucky's arm, they finished up. And yet again she failed at getting off Tony's lap.

"Oh my god Tony" she groaned grabbing onto the edge of the table somehow thinking it would aid her in getting up as he pushed the chair away from the table. "You're being ridiculous" she chided.

"Says the one trying to get off my lap" Tony said with his usual smugness.

"I have things to do" she struggled.

"Like what?" Tony said incredulously. "Your social life consists of Sasha, your apartment neighbours and room mate, the kid, the other kid and nachos"

"HEY! Don't diss the nacho's you old geezer" she said jokingly.

"Let's have a sleepover" he smirked.

"If we have a sleepover you won't let me get any sleep" Zoe fired back.

"So she knows about the plan" Tony chuckled while still attempting to get her to hold still.

"Oh my god. Steve, help please" she said helplessly.

At her plea, Steve wrapped his hands around her forearms and pulled sending her crashing into his chest.

"Aw Cap, you stole my girl" Tony pouted. "You got 'er in your arms" he scolded.

Th- thanks for the help Cap" she said embarrassed.

"Oh yeah did I mention she's got a massive crush on you, so you keep her like that for a few minutes and she'll be putty in your haaaands" Tony said singing the last part.

Earning a glare from Zoe and a reprimanding look from Steve, Ton simply smiled and went back to his tinkering.

At that moment Tony's secretary buzzed through the intercom.

"Mr Stark, Pizza delivery for you" a bell like voice came into the room.

"Thanks Sadie, have happy bring it down for me?" he asked.

"Of course, Mr Stark" her polite reply came through.

"Cap, can I have my girl back?" Tony pouted.

"Oh fuck off Tony" Zoe snapped impatiently.

"You know you can't resist this baby" he teased.

"Ass" she grumbled.

At that moment the pizza dropped onto the table in front of them as Happy appeared.

"Barnes you getting back the usual sensation in that arm of yours?" Tony asked.

"Yeah it's getting there" Bucky answered.

He didn't know why but this Tony Zoe thing bothered him immensely.

"You're free to go, just let me know if anything's not feeling right by tomorrow morning" Tony said.

"Sure" he grumbled.

As they left he watched as Tony grabbed Zoe and threw her onto the couch while she squealed in shock before he started feeding her pieces of pizza.

He didn't like Tony even more so now.


End file.
